Maheshala Ali made his debut as Blade in the MCU, showing up for a brief cameo in the post-credit scene of Eternals, perhaps recruiting Dane Whitman for a cause. Interestingly, the character would reach out to Dane first, given that heroes like Moon Knight Werewolf by Night and Man-Thing already exist in the universe.
Dane Whitman has come in possession of the family heirloom, the Ebony Blade, which is made as a dark reflection of Excalibur. It is also a blade that has a connection to Knull, the god of the Symbiotes. Given that Tom Hardy’s Venom left a piece of his symbiote back in the MCU, it is possible that Blade could find himself hunting followers of Knull instead of vampires for the current moment.
Blade might be reaching other street-level magic users
Blade in the MCU might need some extra hands on deck. While seeing how the Sorcerers were cut down by Elizabeth Olsen‘s Wanda Maximoff and how Strange is missing in the wake of the incident, Balde might turn to other magic users in the MCU, especially the street-level ones who dare not hold back their punches. On his list could be Moon Knight, Werewolf by Night, Man-Thing, Elsa Bloodstone and of course, Dan Whitman.
Here is where Knull’s influence on the multiverse comes into play. The Ebony Blade is a powerful weapon, something that Knull took over after killing Dane Whitman. Given that Marvel still wants to go ahead with the Multiverse Saga, the MCU could see the followers of Knull come into the mainline MCU timeline to take the Ebony Blade to him. Blade and his team could be hunting these minions of Knull, to keep the Ebony Blade from falling into the wrong hands.
Marvel bringing in the Defenders would make sense if this is to happen
Daredevil has made his entry into the MCU, and it seems all the Netflix series that led to the Defenders are now considered canon in the MCU. Iron Fist was a part of this collective, giving Blade 2 more recruits for his multiversal war against Knull’s invading forces. While the inclusion of Jessica Jones and Luke Cage could also serve Blade’s purpose, the street-level, magical side of the MCU might benefit from keeping it simple.
This could also explain why the Defenders are suddenly canon, proving that Marvel would rather introduce these characters in the MCU than spend time setting them up, allowing for these characters to play their part, without the MCU having to spend money to set them up in the universe. The Defenders. along with Blade’s team of vigilantes could hold the line while Strange and other sorcerers venture into the multiverse to deal with Knull himself.
